Columbia International University Athletics

JACKSONVILLE, FLA. - CIU softball battled through the losers' bracket and defeated No. 4-seeded Baptist University of Florida twice on Thursday to capture the NCCAA South Region Championship and earn a trip to the NCCAA World Series. After taking game one 3-1 behind a complete-game performance from Abby Ragan, the Rams erased a late two-run deficit in game two before Caydon Thompson's walk-off home run in the ninth inning sealed a 9-8 victory. CIU improved to 38-18 on the season and claimed the program's second NCCAA South Region title. 

Game One: CIU 3 Baptist 1: CIU wasted no time getting on the board in the first inning. Abigail Guthrie doubled to left-center before Hannah Murphy brought her home with an RBI bunt to give the Rams a 1-0 lead. The Rams added to their advantage in the third inning. Guthrie singled and stole second before Lilli Petty reached after being hit by a pitch. Murphy added her second RBI of the game on another bunt, and Kenzley Horne followed with a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 3-0.

Baptist University of Florida scored its lone run in the fifth inning, but Abby Ragan and the CIU defense stranded two runners to maintain control. The Rams held the Patriots scoreless over the final two innings to seal the championship victory.

Guthrie led CIU offensively with a 2-for-3 performance and scored twice. Murphy drove in two runs, while Horne added an RBI. Guthrie and Petty combined for four stolen bases and Ragan tossed a complete game, allowing just one run on five hits while striking out six to earn her 11th win of the season. 

Game Two: CIU 9 Baptist 8 (9 inn.): CIU answered an early deficit immediately in the first inning when Guthrie reached on a bunt single before Petty launched a two-run home run to give the Rams a 2-1 lead. The Rams added another run in the second inning after Carmella Korte scored on an error, then extended the advantage in the third. Murphy drove in a run with a double to left center before Horne followed with an RBI single to make it 5-1. After the visitors trimmed the lead to two runs in the fourth inning, Tristan Phillips reached on an error, stole third, and later scored on an RBI single from Petty to push the Rams ahead 6-3.

After Baptist tied the game in the seventh inning, CIU found itself trailing 8-6 entering the bottom of the eighth. Raleigh Stewart sparked the rally with a single before Guthrie delivered an RBI double to left center. Murphy followed with a game-tying RBI single to center field to even the score at 8-8. Gabriella Czuczuk kept the game tied by tossing a scoreless top of the ninth inning, setting the stage for Thompson's heroics. Leading off the bottom half, Thompson drove a solo home run to center field to complete the walk-off victory and clinch the NCCAA South Region Championship.

Petty led the offensive effort, going 2-for-2 with three RBIs, Murphy added three hits and two RBIs, while Guthrie collected three hits and scored twice. Thompson finished with two hits, including the game-winning homer, and Stewart added a hit and scored twice. Isabella Davis started in the circle for CIU, allowing three runs over four innings. Stewart and Emily Sampson combined in relief before Czuczuk closed out the final two innings to secure the win.
 

Up Next: The Rams head to the NCCAA Softball World Series, hosted by Dallas Christian College at the Oak Grove Softball Complex in Grapevine, TX, May 18-20.